Brain Fun and Exploration for Kids
The Technology
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/mapping-the-brain.html
PBS, provides and introduction to imaging technology that allows you to explore the brain. Shows
MRI, PET and other brain scans with ability to look at specific areas of the brain or specific types of
scans
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/brainimage.html
Great visuals on PET scans and MRI
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/mri/about.html
Nobelprize .org- information on MRI with an MRI video, and an interactive game- for older children
http://opb.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvsn6.sci.bio.mapbrain/mapping-the-brain/
Mapping the Brain: In this interactive activity from the NOVA scienceNOW website, learn about
several brain mapping techniques and imaging technology.
The Neuroscientists
http://brainsciencepodcast.com/
The Brain Science Podcast features the latest books about neuroscience as well as interviews with
leading scientists from around the world. – with Free transcripts
http://www.youramazingbrain.org.uk/insidebrain/daylife.htm#
Your Amazing Brain- What do brain scientists do all day? What do their labs look like? Do they work
alone or closely with others? What training do they have? What kind of people are they? And what do
they do in their spare time?
BRAINSTEM: Brain Fun for Kids: Joann M. Contini: 2013
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http://opb.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/7d63e8c6-2502-4ca4-a854-0bd9325aac94/7d63e8c62502-4ca4-a854-0bd9325aac94/
Scientist profile of a neurobiologist.
http://blog.ted.com/2012/09/24/12-talks-on-understanding-the-brain/
Meet the researchers: A quick look at 12 TED talks on understanding the brain, click and play.
http://www.youramazingbrain.org.uk/teachers/careers.htm
Careers and the brain-So you want to be a brain scientist?
The Brain
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/introb.html
Dr. Eric Chudler, at the University of Washington, created the site Neuroscience for Kids featuring the
latest neuroscience news, books, and articles.
Lots of good stuff here: Coloring books, brain games, board games, word search, crosswords, songs,
many links to other sites.
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/rhyme1.html
Things that rhyme with brain:
An aid for walking? Brain Cane
Overworked? Brain Strain
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/hiro.html
Decode hieroglyphics to make a single word out of these pictures! All of the words have to do with
the nervous system!
= brain.
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/songs.html
Brain songs like "I've Been Working On My Neurons" and “Home, Home in the Brain"
BRAINSTEM: Brain Fun for Kids: Joann M. Contini: 2013
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http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/brain.html?tracking=K_RelatedArticle
Kids Health- Flash interactive with top and side views of the brain and labeling of brain
Video on nervous system and brain, nerve cells, parts of brain and their jobs
http://kidshealth.org/kid/closet/activities/brain_songs.html
Left brain Right brain song
http://www.webmd.com/brain/picture-of-the-brain
Picture of brain parts and lobes and their functions
http://www.brainsrule.org/kids/games/
Brainsrule.org- roll the cursor over brain parts, pop up windows give tutorials on neurons, and a fun
little neuron game
www.pbslearningmedia.org
PBS learning media.org has many videos complete with discussion questions.
http://opb.pbslearningmedia.org/search/?q=brain
This link shows all brain videos, many for 9th grade plus. Some of special interest for younger
children are:
The Brain: This video examines the anatomy and function of different parts of the brain.
A Matter of Size: This video compares the size of a human brain with the brains of other animals.
Acquiring Language: A child development expert explains the "built-in" mechanisms very young
children have that allow them to acquire and manipulate language.
Hearing, Touch, SmellJ: A series about the senses.
http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/jumpgap.html
University of Utah, Genetic Science Learning Center
BRAINSTEM: Brain Fun for Kids: Joann M. Contini: 2013
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Downloadable lesson plans and overheads, students create a giant synapse and act out
communication at the neural level by behaving as vesicles, neurotransmitters, receptors, secondary
messengers and transporters.
http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/pompom.html
Students visualize how an action potential travels down a neuron.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/
The New Science of Addiction: Genetics and the Brain interactive module which includes: a great little
video Make a Mad, Mad, Mad, Neuron: an instructional video of Neurons, Synapses,
Neurotransmitters; plus, The Other Brain Cells- great info about glial cells
http://www.brainline.org/multimedia/interactive_brain/the_human_brain.html?gclid=COe50ZHN2rACF
UFo4AodYydl2Q
Brainline.org deals with traumatic brain injury
Different views of the brain, move the mouse over the brain and parts of brain light up with a good
description of that brain part plus info on what happens if that area of the brain is damaged
http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/agesubject/lessons/other/injury.html
This activity designed for elementary school students will demonstrate basic methods to care for your
brain. Make a helmet for an egg and perform a simple egg drop test
http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=OTA502
Wisconsin Technical College System- Select and view parts, lobes, and systems of the brain, both
external and internal views, and read about what they do—and what the result of possible problems
in the areas of the brain
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/brain/label/lateralbrain/label.shtml
Enchanted Learning- an activity to Label the parts of the Brain Anatomy Diagram
http://ebhb.morphonix.com/parents-teachers/brainstem/animals-have-brains/animals-have-brainsoverview/
Morphonix- Lesson plans for animals and their brains with some downloadable prints of the animals
with brain size and brain location superimposed
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http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=152&id=1528
Women and Children’s Health Network, Kid’s Health- information about what a brain is, what a brain
does, main areas of the brain, interesting facts about brains, and a quiz
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/brain.htm
How Stuff Works- a nice tutorial on brain and neurons, for older children
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/brainsmart/
BBC-Brainsmart- Some brain games and a few short videos
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/index.php
The Brain from Top to Bottom- has beginner, intermediate and advanced tutorials about the brain,
parts, functions, senses, emotions, sleep, etc.
www.savethisbrain.org
Save This Brain- provides a “build a brain” activity
http://brainu.org/
BrainU - Professional development resources, neuroscience lessons, and materials, printable images
of the human brain, flash movie on the synapse, videos showing how to create bead neurons
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10401930/ns/technology_and_science/t/brain/
The brain: An interactive road map to the mind- tutorial of parts and functions of brain
http://www.brainfacts.org
The Society for Neuroscience produces and reviews resources for primary and secondary educators
interested in teaching about the brain.
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http://neuromorpho.org/neuroMorpho/index.jsp
NeuroMorpho.Org is a centrally curated inventory of digitally reconstructed neurons associated with
peer-reviewed publications. It contains contributions from over 100 laboratories worldwide and is
continuously updated as new morphological reconstructions are collected, published, and shared. To
date, NeuroMorpho.Org is the largest collection of publicly accessible 3D neuronal reconstructions
and associated metadata. To interest and wonder-scroll through thousands of images of different
types of neurons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y_7pJBhdIc&feature=youtu.be
BrainU Neurons video on you tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2OwDYF4MVo
BrainU Action Potential video on you tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RODo7wCB-eA
Neuron song to tune of Call Me Maybe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTvJ4PnTScs
I’m a little neuron song to the tune of I’m a little teapot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh5hjbQWQ78
Brain parts song to the tune of Camptown Ladies
http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/senses-and-perception/articles/2012/day-in-thelife-of-a-brain/
Day in the Life of a Brain, a professor at Oxford University, explains a day in the life of the brain, and
discusses the areas involved in waking up, speaking, walking, and making coffee. This video took first
place in the 2011 Brain Awareness Video Contest
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http://www.brainfacts.org/brain-basics/neuroanatomy/articles/2011/brain-brain-the-magical-fruit/
Brain, Brain, The Magical Fruit- Neuroscience terminology flows better in rap form- this video took
second place in the 2011 Brain Awareness Video Contest
http://clinicalcharts.com/products/anatomy-of-the-brain-anatomical-chart.html
Source for the Brain Anatomical Chart
http://harbaugh.uoregon.edu/Brain/index.htm
The Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art-putting the “A” in STEM=STEAM. This is the
world's largest collection of anatomically correct fabric brain art. Inspired by research from
neuroscience, dissection and neuroeconomics, our current exhibition features a rug based on fMRI
imaging, a knitted brain from dissection, and three quilts with functional images from PET
http://prezi.com/d_0wmtm6uvaz/preschool-stem-presentation/
Presentation on why to have preschool STEM in libraries- lots of good links
http://libraries.idaho.gov/STEM-Resources
Idaho Commission for Libraries-Lots of general links to STEM websites for preschoolers- Not brain
specific
“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose."
Dr. Seuss (from Oh, the places you'll go!,
1990)
BRAINSTEM: Brain Fun for Kids: Joann M. Contini: 2013
If the human brain were so simple
That we could understand it,
We would be so simple
That we could not.
Emerson M. Pugh (as quoted by George E. Pugh,
Emerson's son in G.E. Pugh, The Biological Origin of
Human Values, 1977, p. 154)
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Home, Home in the Brain"
(sung to the tune of "Home, Home on the Range"
lyrics by Matt Owens, Mary Jo Loffelmacher, Sharon Martin, and Lisa Owens - all Illinois teachers)
Oh, give me a brain
with the dendrites free reign
to connect and forever to play;
Where music is heard
to reinforce every word,
and all sorts of knowledge to gain!
Home, home in the brain
Where the dendrites have free reign
to connect every thought
just the way they were taught
without any struggle or strain.
"I've Been Working On My Neurons"
(sung to the tune of "I've Been Working On the Railroad"
lyrics by Linda Lubhart, Vicki Wielgopolan, Debora Parisot, Kathy Despain and Bev Richardson teachers in Mendota, Illinois)
I've been working on my neurons,
All the livelong day.
I've been working on my neurons,
Just to make my dendrites play.
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Can't you hear the synapse snapping?
Impulses bouncing to and fro,
Can't you tell that I've been learning?
See how much I know!
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